Open this photo in gallery: A map renaming Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ is shown as U. S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday in Washington, D. C. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images U. S. President Donald Trump signed an order stating that Lake Ontario will now be called Lake America, just hours after Canada’s trade minister hinted that a deal might still be within reach. Mr. Trump signed the document at the White House on Thursday afternoon. “This is official, effective immediately,” he said. He then went over some of his earlier complaints, including assertions that Canada’s auto policies are unfair and that Canada isn’t investing enough in its military. “Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade,” he remarked. Prime Minister Mark Carney responded with a post on X. “The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which fittingly means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.’ This name has been around for over 400 years, predating both Canadian Confederation and the U. S. Declaration of Independence. We see changes happening in America – their trade relations, foreign policies, national landmarks, and hydronyms. Canadians know that naming reality means it will always be called Lake Ontario.” To First Nations that named Lake Ontario, Trump’s threat doesn’t hold water Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew brushed off the President’s declaration. “You know how when a rock band starts playing old songs at a casino? I think that’s where we’re at with Donald Trump’s presidency right now,” he told reporters in Winnipeg. “It’s not his best work.” Mr. Trump has previously claimed that the U. S. renamed the Gulf of Mexico. “We changed it and now it’s commonly referred to as the Gulf of America. So if you think about it, we have a gulf and now we have a lake. All we need is an ocean next. Maybe we’ll change the name of either the Atlantic or Pacific,” he said. Earlier in the day, Dominic Le Blanc, Canada’s federal minister responsible for U. S.-Canada trade relations issued a statement indicating Canada was open to further discussions after receiving “clarifications” from his American counterpart. “Canada appreciates that the U. S. is retracting its positions on discoverability and labeling while confirming measures to support French language and Canadian culture won’t face future U. S. trade actions,” Mr. Le Blanc stated Thursday in a post on X. “We look forward to more constructive clarifications from the U. S., which could pave the way for a mutually beneficial trade agreement respecting Canadian sovereignty.” The Canadian minister was responding to comments made by U. S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during an interview with on Wednesday. Open this photo in gallery: Dominic Le Blanc, Canada’s minister overseeing U. S.-Canada trade leaves the Office of United States Trade Representative in Washington D. C., on Aug 21. AMID FARAHI/AFP/Getty Images He mentioned while American officials raised concerns about Canadian rules encouraging online streaming services to promote French programming’s “discoverability,” they didn’t insist on any changes. Mr. Greer asserted there’s “no way” his side would let this deal collapse over such issues. “It’s like farthest thing from red line,” he added. He noted there are currently no active communication channels between both sides and warned that further retaliatory actions from Canada would lead to responses from them. “If there’s retaliation from Canada we’re not going just sit back quietly,” he added firmly.”Our stance is don’t retaliate but I understand sentiments up North so it’s unfortunate but that’s how it goes.”
